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The Subtle Art of Practicing Presence and Making Your Anger Melt Away

Lessons In Life from a Recovering Hot Head

“For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’m the guy who got mad at the judge for sentencing me to anger management classes. I paid a heavy price for being a hothead, and one of my most rewarding achievements has been the art of making my anger melt away.

The way to learn how to make anger melt away is fivefold:

1. Live and experience life to the fullest, and feel it all. Learn, adapt, and accept all the consequences.
2. Realize the high cost of anger, the cousin, impatience, and the father, rage.
3. Recognizing your path to peace is accepting what is, especially if you dislike any person, place, or thing, including yourself.
4. Learn and practice healthy habits that transform former impatience, anger, and rage into nothing.
5. Committing to honoring your life is a blessed journey; you never stop learning about and improving yourself. Improving yourself is the only rational way to improve the world.

Practice is the key word. Once you realize the high cost of anger and all other toxic emotions…